The Reflecting Pool on the National Mall has become an embarrassment for the Trump administration. Freshly repainted at considerable expense to achieve what the president calls "American flag blue," the iconic water feature has succumbed to algae growth just days after completion, turning a murky green despite claims of cutting edge treatment methods.
Trump had been effusive about the renovation project, which cost around $10 million and was meant to dazzle visitors ahead of the nation's 250th anniversary celebrations. He drove over the pool last month as construction wrapped up and declared victory, saying the water would finally have "the great color" it lacked under previous administrations. "It never had the color people wanted, but now it's going to have the great color," he said at the time.
But after a weekend of hot weather, the transformation became impossible to ignore. The blue water turned green, a development that undercuts Trump's repeated boasts about making Washington more beautiful than his Democratic predecessors had managed. He had specifically criticized the Obama and Biden administrations for allowing the pool to "look terrible."
The Interior Department moved quickly to defend the project when reporters questioned the sudden color change. A spokesperson said the National Park Service was "actually maintaining" the pool, a jab at Trump's predecessors, and touted the use of "high-tech nanobubble ozone technology" to combat algae and contaminants. Hydrogen peroxide, a gentler alternative to chlorine, is also being deployed, the agency said, with assurances that neither treatment poses environmental harm.
Shallow outdoor pools face inherent challenges with algae growth. The Reflecting Pool's wide, shallow basin makes it an ideal breeding ground for the organisms, which thrive in warm, sunlit water filled with nutrients. Geese and ducks that frequent the area deposit nitrogen and phosphorus, and stormwater runoff carries fertilizer into the pool, creating conditions where algae flourishes through photosynthesis.
The Reflecting Pool renovation has been marked by controversy since its inception. A no-bid government contract worth over $13 million went to a company with a history of work at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, according to reporting by the New York Times. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who has joked he became Trump's "pool guy," defended the contract during congressional testimony, asserting that all required bidding rules were followed.
The Cultural Landscape Foundation challenged the project in court, arguing that the original grey basin was a deliberate design choice, not an incidental feature. "The dark grey, achromatic basin was not incidental to the design. It was the design," wrote Alexander Kristofcak, an attorney representing the plaintiffs.
The pool repainting represents just one element of Trump's broader campaign to reshape the nation's capital. He has pushed for fountain restorations, modifications to the World War II memorial, and other beautification efforts, all aimed at completion by July 4. A controversial ballroom project requiring demolition of the White House's East Wing has drawn fierce criticism from preservationists. Trump is also pursuing construction of a 250-foot arch near the Potomac River, a proposal that has prompted legal challenges from veterans and historians.
The White House attempted damage control, sharing a photograph of the pool when its water was still blue on Monday, captioning it "Making D.C. safe and beautiful again one cleanup at a time." By the time the post went live, the water had turned green.
Author Sarah Mitchell: "Trump spent millions to make the Reflecting Pool match his aesthetic vision, only to have nature deliver an instant reality check. The algae bloom is an apt metaphor for a presidency that often collapses under the weight of its own superlatives."
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